Review: Ko benz restaurant (Phuket, THailand)

KO BENZ

It's one of most popular local restaurant serving great noodle soups using pig's intestine and blood located at the intersection of Ranong Road and Pahipat road, close to the Blue Elephant in Phuket town.

The cuisine is Thai and features a variety of noodle and soup combinations like ‘Mama Moo Sap’ ( Mamm instant noodles) and ‘Woonsen Moo Sap’ (Glass noodles) with pig's intestine that some westners might find it gross.

No wonder this restaurant is more famous to locals than farangs lol.

Other than these taste-bud tickling noodle soups ,they also serve fried pork and meatballs(i forgot the thai name) and 'Khao Tom Haeg' (Porridge with pork chop plus crispy pork)

Half the restaurant is full before they can even take the first order, so get ready to wait, but it's worth it!

Most of customers are locals and they tend to finish their soup in a hurry and leave right away so you might not have to wait for too long.

If not cooked by skilled hands ,pork intestine soup tend to have distinctive pork smell but this noodle soup had none of that, i guess they probably use fresh pork everyday.
It was all good other than some large sized sliced pork and intestine chop made me little uncomfortable while eating
I wish it was little bit smaller and thinner for better feeling in my mouth lol.

‘Woonsen Moo Sap’ (Glass noodles)

 'Khao Tom Haeg' (Porridge with pork intestine chop and crispy pork)

Review: Salsa Hostel (chumphon,Thailand)

I rented a motorcycle in bangkok and planned long way trip all the way to Phuket last year.
I only made it to chumpon and had to come back to BKK due to urgent job interview of my thai friend who came with me on this trip.



room for 2people



I spent one day at trendy hostel that situated about a 5 min walk-or 2 min motorbike ride- from the Chumphon train station.

It is relatively new one opend around spring time last year.

This hostel is run by young Thai-chinese man who understands the needs of travellers very well.

He seemed like he has pretty good experience of back-pack travelling on his own.

Chumphon is another transport hub in Thailand. like Ranong and Surat Thani, many travellers come to Chumphon for two reasons: to take a ferry to Koh Tao, Thailands’ diving capital or to take a train or bus to other region of thailand.

This hostel caters to this traveller's short term stay need in chumphon, it even provides 4 hours stay option for quick rest

Most of the residents at the hostel were short-stay and were waiting for the train or bus within few hours or very early bus next morning.

The hostel was colourful and everything was clean and in working condition.

They had a hot water shower and fast free Wi-Fi.

You can even grab a tasty meal from one of the nearby food stalls since it's located on busy street and market.

One downside of this convenient location is that you might hear some noise at night if you stay at room facing the street.
Overall it's great place for short-stay and above average for guesthouse in Thailand!

visit this hostel's homepage for more information : www.salsachumphon.com

many food stalls near hostel.

Review: In-Love Restaurant in Bangkok

In Love restaurant, situated in Bangkok,it is a wonderful place to spend a romantic time overlooking the Chaophraya River with a panoramic view of the Rama 4 bridge not far from khaosan road.

Try the restaurant’s specialty dish, steamed sea bass with lemon (plaa kraphong neung manao). Reservations are recommended for tables along the riverside.

When you make a reservation, don't forget to ask for table on second floor as it's better to enjoy the view of river there.

Opening Hours: 18:00 – 01:00

Location: 2/1, Krung Kasem Road, Thewet pier.

Tel: +66 (0) 2-2819228

Cuisine: Thai and European

Price Range: regular dish 80~160 bhat
some seafood special dish around 350 bhat and up
Affordable price

How to get there: The easiest way to get there is by river taxi, which is also one of the nicest ways of touring around the city. As you leave the pier, the In Love restaurant is directly on your right. You enter through a canopy of tropical plants into the restaurant interior, which has both indoor and patio dining. Unless there’s a monsoon, you must eat outside. Watching the hectic symphony of boats on the river is mesmerizing, along with some stunning views of the Rama VIII Bridge.

One day in Trat

This article is my record of brief stay at trat, on my way to koh chang on october,2011
Trat is the capital of Trat Province, located on the Cambodian border in Southeastern Thailand. Most travellers will use Trat as an access point to Ko Chang island and not stay there because there's not much to do or see.
The town is sufficiently small to make walking the best mode of transport, although there is little to do besides explore the small streets and relax
But as much as i like to visit famous tourist destination, i love to look around a quiet corner of the city street and watching people making a humble living in not so popular destinations such as trat.

After arriving at trat terminal, mini van driver dropped off all the passengers and told me that this is
last stop so i should get off too.
I told him i would stay overnight in trat and he was kind enough to drop me off near spot where most of
traveller accommodation was gatherd around in the city
After checked in at guest house named "Pop guest house" i got a map and started my little adventure
looking around the city on foot.
Let's take a look at pictures of this lovely small town~

trat hospital

nurse finished work on her way back home

After about one hour of sightseeing in town, i headed to lake shown on the map.
It was little far than i thought.
After 20~30mins of straight walking .I finally arrived at the lake that i don't even know the name of it.
The lake lies secluded in a remote place so it looks kind of lonely , but still pretty wide so it made my mind
refreshing.
I waited until sunset while looking around and takeing a rest my tired feet.
Sunset at this nameless lake looked as good as famous sunset point like Phnom Bahkeng in cambodia.
i looked up the googlemap and found out the name of lake..it's sa sisiat lake
It's only 1km away from trat hospital so you might want to take a look if you stay at trat.

On my way back to guesthouse i stoped across from pophouse guesthouse hearing people seem to fight. out of curiosity i looked inside and found few people practicing muay thai including cute young girl and few boys.
They were very friendly and seem quiet passionate about learning muay thai.
I asked them permission to take few photos and here it is

Koh tarutao, Wide beaches and pristine jungle

On your way to Koh lipe from bangkok or from other region , You have to stop by Tarutao Island of Thailand, probabaly the biggest undeveloped island in south asia. It's located near the border of Thailand and Malaysia, is a paradise for people who love adventure, peace and quiet atmosphere like me.

Almost nobody had ever heard of Tarutao Island before the 'Survivor' television series chose it as one of their locations.

Tarutao is actually national park consisited of 51 large and small islands covered by dense jungle, but the main island is called as Koh Tarutao. Koh Tarutao was the site of a prison camp, housing political prisoners, among others, which was closed after World War II. There are many stories about escape attempts from the prison, after which prisoners had to face the wilderness and fierce attacks of crocodiles and sharks. During the war, after food and water were no longer being supplied from the mainland, the prisoners and guards conspired to rob ships around the island. On the island today, there are still traces of the brutal prisons, with large saucepans, cannon, rusted chains and photographs of prisoners. In 1974, Ko Tarutao was designated a National Marine Park, the second in Thailand.

In Ko Tarutao, visitors can see wild pigs rummaging in the bushes or cobras slithering along the river. Begin your adventures by trekking to the cave of crocodiles, past Du Lu and Lo Po Falls. Although the path is only 3 km, you should tie red cloths on the trees as a mark so you can easily find your way back. And keep an eye out for snakes sunbathing or crawling in the grass.

Crowds of monkeys are often seen, both entertaining and bothering visitors. The most interesting thing for tourists is to swim in a small lake at the foot of the waterfall. The small black fish congregate around swimmers and welcome them by cleaning their hands and feet. In the trees, you may see huge, long snakes seemingly asleep. Thanks to all its wild attractions, the island was chosen by CBS Television as the site to film the reality TV show Survivor, in which contestants had to live on their own on the island.



truck that can take you to other beaches



you can rent bicycle

road to other beaches on island

you can rent these long-tail boat to look around island

Some accommodation is available on Tarutao's west coast, at the park headquarters. and few more at southern beach.

Few bungalows for tourists but the price is not cheap, at about USD70 per person per night. The bungalows are basic, they do not have toilet paper, soap and towels for tourists.

you can rent tent for relatively cheap price but it's located far from public bath,toilet so it's little uncomfortable, especailly at night.

There are also two restaurants on west coast, one at south beach.

Electricity is only available from 6 pm to 12 midnight.

Note that Tarutao is only easily accessible from around mid-November to sometime in May. The exact dates will vary because the closure is due to sea conditions which make travel to and from the islands very dangerous during the rainy season.

Most of travellers pass this big brother island for smaller more commercially developed island, koh lipe but if you want to enjoy your vacation peach and quiet,solitarily style, look no farther.

bungalows at south beach

quiet south beach

Sangkhlaburi and mon bridge

collapsed Mon Bridge

This is my second visit to Sangkhlaburi (often called Sangkhla for short)- quiet border town near Burma. Its around 5 hours drive from Bangkok.

Sangkhlaburi is western edge of Kanchanaburi Province.

The first trip was to see the wooden bridge and i liked it , but this time i found out that wooden bridge ,famous Mon Bridge in Sangkhlaburi partially collapsed after a storm in july this year.
What a bummer.. Apparently it’s been raining heavily there for three days. There were no reports of injuries. At 400 meters this was the longest wooden bridge in Thailand and a major tourist attraction for Kanchanaburi Province

monk drinking instant greentea on collapsed bridge

it looked like the entire village that was “floating” around next to the bridge is completely gone

I heard that they will be starting to repair damaged bridge next april, meanwhile they set up temporary bamboo bridge next to it.

temporarily built bride next to mon bridge

Sangkhla has an eerily beautiful view of semi-submerged trees and raft houses. It’s a tiny town with no unmissable attractions, but the atmosphere is pleasantly low-key and the best of the accommodation occupies scenic lakeside spots so it’s a great place to slow down for a while.

there’s natural beauty in various waterfalls, whitewater rivers and the remote Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary. It sees relatively few foreign tourists, but it’s a popular destination for weekending Thais (come during the week for better deals on accommodation) and resident NGO volunteers add a positive vibe. Though the Burmese border is just 22km away at Three Pagodas Pass, at the time of writing it was closed to foreigners.

Below are photos of mon kids playing at the bridge before collapsed this july.
it looked so happy and peaceful.

Koh Nangyuan

Koh Nang Yuan, while considered to be one island, is actually a set of three islands, or rocky outcrops, connected by two strips of white coral-sand that serve as beach during low tide, and that disappear under the clear water when it rises.

While it looks like a paradisiac place secluded in the middle of nowhere, the truth is completely the opposite. Koh Nang Yuan is located just a 15 minutes long tail boat ride from Koh Tao – in fact, you could almost swim from the closest point of Koh Tao to Koh Nang Yuag… but don’t try it as there are strong currents!

Nangyuan is always popular with people popping over from Tao and even coming from as far as Phangan and Samui on speedboats

There are many ways to get to Koh Tao, but the most common one is by taking the overnight train/bus to Chumphon and from there the morning ferry to Koh Tao. and from Koh Tao taking a day trip or just hopping to overnight at Koh Nang Yuan.

There is only one resort at Koh Nang Yuan –since it is a private island– but the price for a budget cabin is not that bad, considering the location. (I paid 1,600 Bahts for a night). One of the reasons I think staying there outweighs the accommodation price is the fact that you can enjoy the island ALL day.

You can be there with just a handful of people before and after the hoards of tourists/snorkelers/divers who overrun the small beach left the island – which in fact, are the best times to enjoy the beach since it’s low tide, there’s not such a strong current, and you can literally lie on the sand, sunbathe, relax, and read before the sandy strips are submerged by the high tide.

I loved swimming and relaxing at the beach while watching the sunset with barely anyone next to me. And I also loved waking up to have an early swim when there was absolutely no one else other than my friend and I. These moments were priceless. By the way, there are not many places in the world where you can say you watched the sunrise and sunset on the same beach!